Raczek has earned national softball accolades this summer.

Stevens Point– Pacelli junior Emily Raczek has had herself quite a summer.  After helping the Cardinals defeat powerhouse Poynette to claim the State Softball Championship in June, Raczek was selected to play in a national softball All-Star game that took place in Westminster, Colorado on Tuesday, June 26.  Raczek earned the ultimate honor in that game when she was one of only four athletes at the tournament to be selected as an All American.

Raczek’s high school coach, Ann Molski, has high praise for her catcher.

“Emily has been our starting catcher for the past two years,” Molski said.  ”During that time I’ve seen her grow from a good ball player to an outstanding player.  Emily played a key part in both our wins at State this past June.  Her key hits and leasdership from behind the plate were vital to our victories.  The ball that she is playing ths summer will really expose her to that next level of ball and continue to propell her toward her dream of playing after high school.

CWS:  Can you give me a little background on the All-Star game and  how you were selected to play in it?

Raczek: I made the All-Star team by having my Wisconsin Elite Traveling coach, Ron Harke, nominate me for the team.  He had to fill out an application with different information: high school name, stats, position, etc. He then sends that application to Triple Crown Sports, which was the group of people that ran the tournament.

CWS: How well did you play in that game?

Raczek: In the All-Star game I played extremely well. I was 1-1 with a walk. Both times I made it all the way home to score two runs.

CWS: What was the most memorable thing that happened at the All-Star game?

Raczek: The most memorable thing about the All-Star game was getting the chance to play for college coaches and interacting with peers from all over the nation who like to play softball– and are just as passionate about it– as I am. It also happened that one of the girls on my All-Star team was one I played against last summer in a tournament!

CWS: What was it like when you found out you had been selected as an All-American?

Raczek: The feelings I had when I was selected as an All-American were, and still are, indescribable. The college coaches that were coaching my All-Star Team, along with the college coaches that were coaching the other All-Star Team, picked 4 people between the two teams to be on the All-American Team. They handed the individual a slip of paper that said that you were chosen to play in the Sparkler College Exposure All-American game.  On my team there were 46 girls and on the other team there was 49. Not everyone on both teams got the chance to play in the field either. I was one of 6 catchers on my team had to opportunity to actually catch during that game. Everyone did get the chance to bat though.